I left you last at the emergency room, people watching on a Friday night. Hello now on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon in my backyard. The dogs are sunning themselves, the birds are making a joyous ruckus, and I am sitting in the back stoop painting, with my leg propped up and seven stitches in my left knee. I can still get around easily, and I'm not all that uncomfortable. I didn't do any damage to tendons or anything else, so I didn't wreck our summer. I should be good to run again in 10-14 days.

Phew!

Until then, I will busy myself in the studio and closer to home. I was putting the finishing touches on a few things in the studio, opened my oil painting kit to get it ready for a day of drawing with friends next weekend and saw I had only one naked panel of masonite left. The cherry tree in our backyard is in bloom, but the petals are quickly being scattered by then wind, so I thought it a good idea to park my but on the stoop and capture it before all the blossoms were lying in the grass like confetti at the aftermath of a party.